Friday, December 01, 2017

N-qia - Fantasica [Noble Promo]

To be released on December 15th, 2k17 via the Noble Label is "Fantasica", the third album installment brought to us by N-qia, a project set up by Ambient producer Serph and female vocalist Nozomi. Catering a whole bunch of eleven new tunes within a playtime of approx. 46 minutes they're once again following their path to create a sound influenced by Alternative, electronic and Pop which is introduced by the album opener "Seven Nights Circus" focusing on the positive aspect of their collaborational work and bringing on quite a playful overall attitude gravitating towards Easy Listening and Lounge Pop / Club Pop. "Time Leaper", as well as basically all songs on "Fantasica", is down with this vibe as well, weighing in more complex and partly Drill'n'Bass-influenced drum programming, "Glitter" comes up with Japanese flutes and bits and bops of DreamPop, "Dream Ocean" fuses childlike innocence, bits of Country'esque banjo's and a happy-go-lucky vibe for the dancefloor, except - which goes for the whole album as well - a total lack of bass frequencies and proper bassdrums before "Fouk" drifts off into romantic dreamlands using the fast lane. The "Love Transmitter" spreads a whole lotta love indeed, especially for those loving their piano driven late night listening sessions whilst beats are on overdrive, "Lost Kids" fuses Pop Exotica with a blustering beat foundation seemingly influenced by Drum'n'Bass, catering a surprisingly ravey break mid-tune and "Like A Little Bird" is quite a blueprint for Leftfield Pop for a reason. Looking into the "Light" we're taken into an exotic paradise vibewise, the "Lover's Rock" surprisingly introduces melancholia and a twangy Blues-twist to the sound of N-qia before the final cut "Neondrive" once again amalgamates Club Pop and advanced Drum'n'Bass foundationwise whilst messing around with Dub FX to a sweet effect. Even we don't embrace the mid-range focused sound aesthetics to the fullest this is an interesting longplay piece for collectors of Exotica and related genres for sure.